What's in a Name?
by doodlegirll
Summary: MTR oneshot for Whimsical Sonata's contest. Cornelius tells ten year old Wilbur how he got his name for a school assignment. R


**Hiya, guys! I've been gone a while, huh? Well, that's cause my laptop's died two times in the past week! But it's all good...for now. Anyway, this is my entry for Whimsical Sonata's contest. I was going to do a different one, but it's way too long, and I've kinda got writer's block on it. Anyway, the rest of this week in unpredictable. I'm finally on summer break, but I don't know what we're planning on doing. My neighbor just had her baby, so we'll most likely be going to see her a lot. Then on Thursday, my daddy's work has it's yearly picnic get together, then the 16th - 19th my friend Sophie is coming to visit, so...yeah...anyway, enjoy the story!**

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**What's In A Name?**

A _Meet the Robinsons _fan fiction

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Ten-year-old Wilbur Robinson ran into his room, throwing his backpack on his bed. He grabbed his Writing Screen and ran from the room, not bothering to close his door behind him. He raced past Lefty, who was carrying a tray with various dishes Wilbur guessed were from his dad's laboratory and into his mother's music room.

"Mom!" He said. "Mom!"

Wilbur's mom, Franny, turned from her position at the podium in front of her singing frog ensemble. "What is it?" She asked.

"Mrs. Gilligan wants us to find out from our parents why they named us what they did." Wilbur explained. "She wants us to write down what we learn and tell the class tomorrow!"

Franny smiled and ruffled Wilbur's hair, much to his dismay. "I'm afraid I can't help you there, Wilbur." She said.

"Why not?" Wilbur demanded, fixing his hair as best he could without a mirror and comb. "There has to be a reason you named me Wilbur!"

"I can't help you because I wasn't the one that named you." Franny said.

"You weren't?" Wilbur asked, surprised. Like any kid, he had always thought the moms were the ones who named their children. "Then who was?"

"Your father named you." Franny said. "We agreed that if you were a boy, he would get to name you. If you had been a girl, I would have named you." She explained.

"Oh." Wilbur said. "But that still doesn't answer the question!"

Franny ruffled her son's hair again, ignoring his cries of protest.

"Then go ask your dad. If anyone knows why he named you what he did, it'd be the person who named you in the first place." She walked over to the intercom on the wall and pressed the button that allowed her to talk to her husband while he worked in his lab. He had finally installed the intercoms after many small incidents with people showing up in his lab to talk to him when he least expected it with the Travel Tubes. It had actually taken three minor explosions, one malfunctioning machine, and one evacuation of the house before Franny had convinced him the intercoms were a good idea.

"Cornelius." She said, letting go of the button so Cornelius Robinson could answer her.

"Yeah?" Came the response.

"Your son needs to talk to you about something. Is it okay to come up?"

"Oh yeah. Nothing's going to combust, I –" Cornelius was cut short by a short "poof" of an explosion and a fit of coughing. "Promise." He finished.

"Dad? Is it safe or not?" Wilbur asked causiously, remembering the last time he had come up to the lab after his dad had said it was okay. He and his dad both had lost their shoes after a laser beam had malfunctioned and melted them to the floor.

"It's safe." Cornelius assured him.

"Are you sure?" Franny asked, not wanting anything bad to happen.

"Positive. There's nothing else in here at the moment that could blow up in my face like that unless someone intentionally did it." Cornelius said.

"Alright, then. I'm sending Wilbur up. I'll come and get you both when dinner's ready." Franny said. She turned to Wilbur.

"Go on. Your father's waiting for you."

"Thanks, Mom." Wilbur said as he left the room. He raced past Spike and Dimitri in their household tree pots, past the garage door, past his room, and up the stairs into his dad's open, sunny laboratory.

"Dad!" He called before he reached he top of the stairs. His father was busy wiping soot from his face on a towel.

"Geez, Dad, what'd you blow up?" Wilbur asked, looking around. His father smiled.

"Cup holders." He said.

"Dad, cup holders have already been invented." Wilbur pointed out. His father shook his head.

"Not these." He said. "And anyway, they blew up, so now I have time to talk. What do you need to ask me, son?"

"Mrs. Gilligan wants us to find out from our parents why they named us what they did, write some notes down on it, and tell the class tomorrow. Mom said you were the one that named me, so why did you name me Wilbur?" Wilbur explained on one breath. Cornelius smiled.

"I named you after my best friend as a kid. When I was twelve, my best friend's name was Wilbur." He explained. Wilbur took his Touch Pen from the top of his Writing Screen and started to scribble notes on the computer screen paper.

"Go on." He said.

"And as I'm sure your mother has told you, if you had been a girl she would have named you. But seeing as you weren't a girl, I got the privilege of naming you Wilbur."

"How did you and your friend meet?" Wilbur asked.

"Hm…" Cornelius said, contemplating over whether or not he should tell his son. "We met at a science fair. I was showing my Memory Scanner." Cornelius said. "That was also the place where I met your grandparents and your mother."

"Cool." Wilbur said, replacing the Touch Pen in the little slot on top of the Writing Screen. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, son." Cornelius said, smiling down at his son.

"What was Wilbur like?" Wilbur asked curiously.

"Wilbur was a lot like you. He was very sarcastic and almost _always_ in trouble." Cornelius said.

"So he was like me?" Wilbur asked. "Cool!"

"Cornelius! Wilbur!" Franny called, walking into the room. "Dinner!"

"Oh great, I'm starving!" Wilbur said. "Wait, what is it?"

"Soup." Franny said.

"Then I'm definitely wearing my Rain Poncho to dinner, just in case Uncle Art and Uncle Gaston decide to start another fight tonight!" Wilbur said. Franny and Cornelius laughed.

"That's not a bad idea." Cornelius said.

"What did you find out, Wilbur?" Franny asked, meaning Wilbur's assignment.

"Oh, I found out I'm named after Dad's best friend as a kid. Dad says he was a lot like me." Wilbur said. "Whatever happened to him, Dad?"

"He moved." Cornelius said, shrugging.

"Oh." Wilbur said. "Well, thanks again, Dad!"

With that, Wilbur raced down the stairs to his room to get his Rain Poncho.

Franny turned to Cornelius. "Wilbur is named after your best friend? I didn't know that."

"That's because I never told anybody." Cornelius said, shrugging.

"Did you ever see your friend again?" Cornelius smiled and nodded.

"I saw him the night our Wilbur was born." He said. Franny looked confused.

"Really? Why haven't I met him yet, then?" She asked.

"You have, you just don't realize it yet." Cornelius said, a secret glinting in his eyes.

"What? Cornelius, now you're just being confusing!" Franny said. "I've never met your friend Wilbur! Surely I would remember him since he shares our son's name!"

"Franny, Wilbur is named after himself." Cornelius said, grinning.

"That's impossible, Cornelius." Franny said, putting her hands on her hips. "How can our son be named after himself?"

Cornelius laughed. "Wait three years and you'll see what I mean." He said. Franny shook her head as she smiled and headed down the stairs.

"Sometimes, Cornelius Robinson, I just don't understand you."

Cornelius just shook his head and followed his family down the stairs to dinner. They'd understand someday.


End file.
